The present invention relates to a device for melt extrusion spinning and cooling of a bundle of filaments and, more particularly, to such a device comprising a spinning device having an annular spinning jet and a cooling device arranged below the spinning device, wherein the cooling device comprises a blowing chamber for directing a coolant stream onto the filament bundle and a holding device for engaging the blowing chamber between the spinning device and the holding device in an operating position of the blowing chamber substantially centrally to the spinning jet.
During the melt spinning of synthetic yarns a plurality of strand-like filaments is extruded from a molten polymer by a spinning jet, sometimes referred to as a spinneret, having a plurality of jet bores. The filament strands exiting from the bores of the spinning jet must be cooled in order to be taken up after further treatment as yarns or yarn bundles. Preferably, the cooling medium is air directed to flow onto the filaments transversely to the direction of filament travel. The cooling air can penetrate the filament bundle from outwardly toward the inside of the bundle or from inwardly toward the outside of the bundle. An example of such known devices in which the current of cooling air penetrates a filament bundle from inwardly toward the outside of the filament bundle is disclosed in German Patent Publication DE 37 08 168A1.
In such known device, the filament bundle is produced by an annular spinning jet in a spinning device. A cooling device is provided below the spinning device, which cooling device comprises a blowing chamber aligned substantially centrally to the spinning jet. The blowing chamber is connected to a holding device by means of which a coolant is introduced into the blowing chamber. The blowing chamber is surrounded and defined by a porous annular jacket, e.g., comprised of a sintered material, so that the cooling air flowing into the interior of the blowing chamber exits radially outwardly through the porous jacket and passes through the filament bundle. Such devices have the basic problem that the volatile components of the filament bundle accumulate on the porous jacket of the blowing chamber making necessary from time to time a periodic cleaning or replacement of the blowing chamber. The known device has the further disadvantage that the complete cooling device must be removed from the spinning area for such cleaning or replacement.
The known device has the further problem that the extent of filament travel over which the filaments are cooled by the coolant air and the position of the downstream yarn preparation device are in a fixed relationship to one another and can not be changed.